Former Gadsden dentist Dr. Joseph Clarence Cox was sentenced to 180 years in prison for two counts of rape, two counts of sodomy and eight counts of sexual abuse.
According to court documents, Cox was found guilty of the charges in January.
Prosecutors said Cox abused employees and patients until his arrest in April 2021. After opening his dental clinic on Rainbow Drive in 2017, investigators were notified of an unusually high employee turnover rate.
In court, witnesses testified Cox subjected patients to sexual contact during dental visits and said he touched employees inappropriately. Two former staff members accused Cox of touching them inappropriately and said the touching eventually turned into rape and sodomy. Indictments show the rape was by "forcible compulsion."
For the rape and sodomy charges, Cox was sentenced to 25 years each, and for the sexual abuse charges, he was sentenced to 10 years each. The judge ordered those sentences to be served consecutively.
Attorneys for Cox have filed for an appeal.
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